


A Week Among Bees

by FetidCorpse



Category: RWBY
Genre: Affection, Bumbleby Week 2020, Conjunction, Emotional Scarring, Epilogue, F/F, Fluff, Friendly Coercion, Gen, Seashell Ring, Space opera AU, Suspicious Fish, The Vytal Festival, Weiss suffers, Yang Belladonna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:27:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24485059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FetidCorpse/pseuds/FetidCorpse
Summary: May I offer you some Bumbleby in these trying times?Chapter 1: The Seashell RingChapter 2: Emotional ScarringChapter 3: Cycles of RebirthChapter 4: Share the Stars (AU Day)Chapter 5: Comforting Each OtherChapter 6: PerihelionChapter 7: Pax Draconis
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 22
Kudos: 104





	1. Day 1: The Seashell Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake was punishing herself when she threw away the bottle cap, but fate, providence, destiny, or just luck saw the same sea into which she threw the bottle cap return to her a treasure from faunus legend.

Blake threw away the one memento of Yang that she always carried, and the sea gave her a ring from myth. A ring she wore on a chain around her neck, after the fight at Argus. Blake hadn't put much stock in predestination, even before seeing the pettiness and unworthiness of the two brother gods, but she couldn't help but feel like she belonged with Yang. The ring seemed to underline that, being too large for Blake's fingers. She was certain that it would fit Yang's hands, flesh or metal.

But, how do you tell someone that they are the star you revolve around? How does that conversation start?

With Adam, everything was a mess. In hindsight, she could see how she was coached, goaded, and manipulated. She could see how little her words and feelings meant to him, now that she had Yang, who seemed to hear what she was thinking at times and actually valued Blake's opinion on things to the point where Yang changed her mind about reaching out to Robyn. Knowing that her words had weight with Yang was everything.

She fingered the ring, spinning it one way and then back, trying to work out how you approach the subject of eternity with someone, when she heard a familiar set of foot-stomps. They halted briefly outside her door in the Happy Huntresses' safehouse before a knocking came from the other side of the door.

“Come in, Yang.”

“I'm going to buy new boots, and you won't be able to do that for a few days.” Yang opened the door with a smile.

“You'll have to walk softer and slower for that to work.”

“I'll work on it.” Yang took a seat next to Blake, leaning back and stretching as she watched the ring and chain twist.

It reminded Blake of a line from The Man With Two Souls, where the Ozpin surrogate told his story and saw questions in the eyes of the listener. Yang's eyes were brimming with questions.

“What would you like to know, Yang?”

“I,” Yang hesitated. “I was wondering what that ring meant. Is it a family heirloom?”

“In a way, yes. It replaced my previous... talisman.” I was in a dark place when I returned to Menagerie. I felt I deserved punishment, and took it upon myself to do it. I threw away the only trinket I'd managed to carry away from Beacon: the bottle cap from the night we wrecked the bar.”

“You kept that?”

“It was a memento from a good night. There weren't many of those for a long time before I came to Beacon.” Blake paused to shake off darker thoughts. “I was still moping when I arrived at home, so my mom told me a story about the Princess of Azure Island, who killed herself when her lover died in war. She received a token that told her he'd died, a seashell ring that she'd given him. I can give you the whole story if our scrolls ever unlock. Then, my mom asked me to go fishing with her. We caught an enormous tuna, and I found this seashell ring in the first tuna steak I had from it. We caught it off of Azure Island.”

“You think it's the ring?”

“I don't know. I forgot to ask if there's any sort of tradition around her story. Maybe people throw seashell rings off the cliff she dived from as remembrance or to grieve in their own ways.” Blake steeled herself for what she was going to ask next as she removed the ring from the chain. “It's too large for my fingers. Do you think it would fit yours?”

"Are," Yang blinked at the offering, “are you sure?”

“I've never been more sure of anything, Yang.”

It fit perfectly on Yang's left ring finger. “Why does that feel so right?”

“Because it's you, Yang.” Blake took off the chain and pocketed it. “Everything feels right with you.”

“Everything?”

Blake was elated at the way Yang said it. It silenced her doubts and embolden her to action. She grabbed Yang's shoulder and pulled herself onto Yang's lap and straddled it. She brought her forehead to Yang's and replied. “Everything, including–” She didn't get all the words out before Yang started to kiss her, and Blake forgot about the words entirely.


	2. Emotional Scarring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss and Ruby keep making comments about how the Bees should get together. Yang is at her breaking point, and Blake isn't far behind.

“Yang, did you see that sushi stall? I bet Blake would like it...” Weiss's matchmaking was fairly heavy-handed.

Yang was getting sick of it. She had a plan for stopping Weiss. Although, Yang hoped she wouldn't have to go through with the entire scheme, as it would certainly torpedo her relationship with Weiss for a while.

She waited until Ruby and Blake went looking for a bookstore before talking to Weiss.

“Weiss?”

“Yes, Yang?”

“Can you stop with this pushing us together, Blake and I? It's kinda weird that every time something fish or book-related crosses our path, you or Ruby has to say something, has to push at us.”

“Is it so bad that we think you two are good together?”

“It's bad that you're pushing. It's bad that you're not letting us find our own way in this. We've been through a lot together, and I think we're finally ahead of where we were before Beacon fell.”

“It's important to me, Weiss, that Blake has agency in this. It's important that I do, too. I... I need her to choose me. I need to know that someone can choose me, leave, come back, chose me again, and not regret it.” Yang took a deep breath. “I also don't need you and Ruby breathing down our necks the whole time, trying to make something happen inorganically. Blake says she considers you to be the most defiant one of us, so I know you'll understand not wanting to do something you're being pushed toward. I know you understand doubting yourself when someone else is pushing you toward something you, yourself, want. I do not want to feel those doubts. I have enough. I especially don't want Blake to feel that sort of doubt.”

Weiss sat quietly for a time before answering, “We weren't trying to force the issue, Yang. We just thought you could use some help. At Beacon, we thought there was something between you two, then she took Sun to the dance. But that went nowhere. Then we thought there was something happening before the Fall, but everything went to hell on us. I want you two to be happy, as you've made me. I didn't think about how it must've been from your point of view. I'll let it be, Yang.” She was swiftly engulfed in a crushing hug.

“Thanks Weiss, I am so glad I didn't have to resort to coercion.”

“Coercion?” Weiss's voice went up an octave. “What could you possibly hold over my head?”

“Well–” Yang drew it out to savor the suspense, “–I've mentioned having to raise Ruby when my dad was... neglectful. His detachment meant that we couldn't really count on him to do things like sign permission slips for school trips, or report cards, or anything else we needed permission for. So, I learned to forge his handwriting.”

“That's resourceful.”

Yang grinned, “Yep, and his isn't the only hand I can duplicate. I can duplicate the hand of everyone in RWBY and JNPR. There's a lot one could do with that, like send love-notes and invitations to Jaune.”

“YANG! Did you ever?”

“Haha, no, you made your position very clear when we were at Beacon. I'm glad you two get along now, though. It was always weird when our teams did something together and we had put a buffer between you so he wouldn't hit on you in front of all of us.”

Yang continued, “He's actually somewhat mature, now. I would have put something like that in a letter if I were to send it, now. He wasn't up to your standards at Beacon, but has improved himself and might be worthy of the Schnee ex-heiress's time now.”

“Ugh, please warn me before you find it necessary to send some sort of letter like that. I can't imagine anything could wake me up any quicker.”

“Okay.” Yang smiled brightly at the suggestion.

“Who I thought I wanted at Beacon was absurd. I need to be sure of who Weiss Schnee is before I pursue anyone.”

“I was surprised you didn't make a move on Pyrrha. You were very into the idea of being her partner from what I overheard on the day we were launched into the forest.”

“Pyrrha?” Weiss blinked. “I think I was too suppressed to realize there was any attraction on my part. Not until much, much later.”

“I wondered. From what you've said, your upbringing focused so much on being and, implicitly, producing an heir. Suppressing those interests might have come naturally when you were trying to survive Schnee Manor.”

“I think there's something to that idea. It's good to be rid of him. I can just be Weiss now. I'll figure it out.”

“It's freeing to be yourself and not who you think you should be, or even who you have to be.” Yang sighed. “I've been there.”

“Do you have a coercive plan to ensure Ruby's silence?”

“I could probably make her feel guilty about leaving me at home while she and JNPR gallivanted across Anima. Maybe play the I-raised-you-better-than-that card. It might work, but I think I'd just have to talk to her. She'll listen if there's nothing to distract her.”

“But you thought you'd have to threaten me?” Thankfully, Weiss sounded amused.

“Well, I didn't think I'd need to. I honestly thought of the scheme in the first week of classes when you and Ruby were squabbling, but I didn't get a good sample of your handwriting until a few months later. Ruby dragged you out of the room for something and ruined some piece of homework, so you threw it out after copying it to another page. I remembered the scheme and thought about ordering a few thousand mites or spiders to be delivered to CRDL's room, or ordering you birthday presents from yourself in the future.”

“That would have been fun, as long as the presents weren't pranks.”

“They'd be the best I could budget. We always take birthdays seriously in the Branwen/Rose/Xiao Long House.”

“I could tell by how Ruby lit up talking about holidays and birthdays.”

“I wanted to give her holidays like the ones I had, before Summer passed.”

“Did she ever call you Mom?”

“Nope, but Yang was one of her first words.”

“Blake, did you see the club we passed? Yang would love it. Ah-wink.” Ruby's struggles with subtlety continued.

“I don't think you're supposed to say wink out loud, Ruby.”

“Well, you were looking around for a bookstore, so how else was I supposed to do it?”

“You don't have to.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wherever this is going, Yang and I don't need help to get there. You cannot force something like this. Something that I learned from my father is that being a good leader means knowing when not to interfere.”

“But, I'm trying to help. And so is Weiss.”

“I understand that you're trying, but this isn't the sort of thing that needs any sort of help from outside. Let it play out. For my part, there's very little as off-putting as someone telling you to do something you were already doing, or were about to do. And it's certainly not romantic to hear you two giving all these ideas to Yang, so that I have to wonder if they're her idea, or yours. I don't want to question whether she's doing this because she wants to or because Dear Team Leader ordered her to.”

“We didn't think you knew about those suggestions.”

“Ruby, in the Cotta-Arc's house, I heard every conversation that wasn't held behind a closed door, and some that were. I try not to eavesdrop, but it can be difficult to tune people out when they're talking about people who are important to me. Also, Weiss keeps slipping seafood takeout menus into Yang's pockets when Yang doesn't hang up her jacket.”

“Oh. That makes sense. Do you want me to ask Weiss to stop, too?”

“I,” she paused. “I think so. It's exhausting to repeat the same conversation, and you would probably be nicer about it that I would right now.”

“Okay, I'm sorry if we went to far, Blake.”

Blake wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulders and said, “I know, Ruby. Let's continue on and find some books.”

“That sounds good to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a fan of heavy-handed matchmaking, and it came to me that it could touch those scars that aren't visible.
> 
> And yes, I wrote a chapter for Bumbleby Week in which the Bees don't actually talk to each other, but I think showing that they're on the same wavelength is enough for me.


	3. Cycles of Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang takes a trip to Menagerie to see the Vytal Festival, and the wheel of fate spins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When given the choice to write about soulmates or reincarnation, I choose both.

Yang remembered bits and pieces of past lives, this time. Yang didn't know  **her** name, or what she looked like, but she was out there to be found. In one of their past lives, there had been another suitor. He had not treated her partner well. Yang was happy to remember that he (or she, as it sometimes happened) didn't show up in every life. The intruder was charismatic, but myopic. Yang suspected that they managed to offend the wrong people and die young in many lives, though it was also possible that they simple weren't reborn on the same wavelength as Yang and her partner. Some of the tethered were staggered to the degree that one would be a child when the other had already lived for decades.

Yang wondered what she'd be like, this time. Yang couldn't actually see or hear **her** in the memories she'd inherited. She tried not to dwell on it too much. She'd lost many days in her younger years wondering, fantasizing. It didn't make the meeting come any sooner.

Yang had taken to traveling when she could amass the time and funds. She knew that she wouldn't be able to meet her partner early, but it didn't hurt to make it easy on fate. Patch didn't receive many visitors outside of specific events, so leaving meant that crossing paths would be more likely.

This time, Yang was headed to Menagerie. She had a good feeling about it, but she didn't know what to expect. She was due to arrive during the Vytal Festival and had a ticket to see the final fights. After that, she had a couple weeks to see the sights as she explored the island.

The flight was tedious, as all flights are. She was thankful that no bothered her or tried to deceive her into think they were tethered. That happened from time to time, despite the way that the soul tether worked. She'd been told by her parents that there was no mistaking it. “You won't have to wonder if they're the one, Yang.” Summer had said, “You'll know.”

Yang checked in and dropped her things off in her hotel room before making her way to a Kuo Kuana market for dinner.

[...]

Blake dreamed of leaving Kuo Kuana. Being the daughter of Kuo Kuana's chieftain meant that she was known throughout Menagerie. **She** wasn't here. Blake would have met her if she was. Her parents reached out to more than just the wealthy in Menagerie. Ghira wanted to lead his people, not rule them, and that meant connecting with as many of them as possible. Introducing Blake to everyone to see if they were tethered was a bonus.

It had been a long time since anyone had tried to claim they were tethered to her. She'd been firm with everyone who'd made the claim before. Lust or ambition usually seemed to be behind it. A lot of people forgot that the Chieftain of Menagerie was not a hereditary position. Ghira had earned it after Kali's father passed. There was no line of succession. Ghira would pick a successor some time in the years ahead, and would hopefully be able to guide them through the transition and after. Blake wasn't sure if she wanted to be considered.

She walked down to the dockside fishmarket in the city, hoping to find something unusual in the stalls reserved for fishmongers. During events like the Vytal Festival, they tended to put more choice and unusual seafood out for purchase, instead of bringing them home for their own families.

When she began to walk home with her delicacies, she felt a warming presence, something she hadn't noticed in the fishmarket before. The docks were teeming with people, so she couldn't pinpoint who or what was the source of the presence. After looking fruitlessly around for a minute, she hurried home.

[...]

Yang felt a sense of loss, like something had been offered and then yanked away from her as she reached for it. She looked suspiciously at her dinner before continuing to eat. The feeling didn't grow any stronger, so she had to assume it wasn't the food.

No one else she could see in the crowded market looked as though they shared her experience. After finishing her meal, Yang drifted around the market, trying to divine the source of her sudden languor. Finding nothing, her spirits gradually returned and she enjoyed the sights, smells, and sounds of the market before calling it a day and returning to her room.

[...]

Yang woke up excited. The final fights were today and she had a great seat waiting for her. She endured a mediocre complimentary breakfast and started toward the stadium.

As she saw the stadium in the distance, she realized that she again felt a tenuous offer. She stopped in her tracks and scanned the area for an explanation. As she turned away from the stadium, the sensation grew stronger. She was standing in front of a library.

It hit her like a barrage. Inherited memories of slender hands holding a book in all sorts of situations. Sometimes she read silently, other times **she** read aloud and shared worlds with Yang.

Yang had to say it out loud, “Is this you?”

She pushed open the door to the library and stepped inside.

[...]

Blake wasn't sure why the library was opening during the Vytal Festival finals. She didn't expect anyone but the most fanatic of the regulars to stop by. She found a reading nook with a view of the entrance and made herself comfortable with a classic romance.

After an hour, she felt a warmth suffuse her. Usually, that came from reading a particularly steamy passage, but she was a long way from any steaminess in her book. The author had front-loaded a great deal of history of their world, and she was still trudging through it when the warmth grew around her.

“What is this?” She murmured to herself. Then she remembered the warmth by the docks the previous day. She glanced at the corner of the page to memorize where her place was. When she committed it to memory and looked up, the door was opening and **she** stood framed by the morning sun.

And Blake remembered past lives and days spent being dragged to also sorts of places by the promise of warmth and a radiant smile. She remembered dancing, reading, and basking in **her** warmth. Blake remembered fighting for her and fighting beside her, knowing that every day was a new adventure.

She didn't remember standing. She didn't remember walking across the library. She didn't even remember wrapping her arms around **her** , but it felt right to do it.

[...]

Yang walked on numb legs into the library toward **her**. She would have fallen if there had been any steps up or down along the way. Her vision tunneled on a vision of black and gold. Yang held **her** in her arms, and it felt so right.


	4. Share the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Space Opera Escape Pod AU

Everything went to pieces quickly. One minute, Yang was napping in her cabin, the next a warning klaxon told her that the ship was coming up on something not on the star charts.

She murmured a groggy, “Oh great,” as she staggered toward the cockpit. “I plot a course that takes _Celica_ nowhere within a hectoparsec of any celestial bodies and something still pops up.”

She slowed _Celica_ from its blistering FTL pace to something that allowed more accurate scanning of nearby space. The scanner revealed something Yang hadn't expected, an escape pod. The scans could show any markings, but she was receiving a faint S.O.S. from its transmitter. That wasn't a strong indicator that any people inside were still alive, as distress beacons didn't require oxygen (and most spacefarers do).

She slowed and slowed as she approached the pod. As she neared, she was finally able to make out the insignia painted on the sides, a white wolf's head in a blue circle.

_What is a White Fang escape pod doing 400 light-years from anywhere? How long has it been drifting? Is it the red Wolf's Head or the white one that's peaceful?_

Yang had lot of questions as she prepared to take the pod into  _Celica_ 's loading bay. Hopefully there would be someone alive inside to answer them. She opened the bay, used a loading crane to pull the pod in, closed the bay, and started the process of returning breathable air to the loading bay. It took about ten minutes for the loading bay to fill with enough air that Yang didn't need a spacesuit to open the pod. She locked the navigation systems and mad her way to the belly of the ship.

She went with her gut and didn't bring a weapon. Even if it was pragmatic, she didn't want to unnerve any new passengers by seeming violent. She knew that a good first impression was generally hard to achieve when you were holding a laser rifle or even a stun truncheon.

Reaching the pod, Yang took a small hammer from her belt and rapped on the door. There was no response. _I guess I'm going to have to open this the hard way._ She grabbed a plasma torch and an eye shield from the walls of the loading bay and began to remove the door by cutting around the edges, hoping to break through any locks and hinges. Yang had to fully circle the door with her torch before it fell away, revealing–

_Oh shit, that is a lot of blood._

A young faunus woman with black hair and cat ears with a nasty wound on her hip. It looked like she'd put pressure on the wound with a robe or towel, but had eventually passed out from pain or blood loss. Most of the interior of the pod and her clothing were dyed reddish brown from dried blood. Yang reached out and felt for a pulse on her neck. It was very faint.

_No space burial today!_

Yang scooped the mystery faunus into her arms made her way to what used to be Ruby's cabin. It had a bed, a few mismatched sets of clothing Ruby had left behind, and the most complete of  _Celica_ 's first aid kits. Yang began rummaging through it for what would be needed.

_Disinfectant, check. Hemoglobin replenisher, check. Synthflesh and synthskin, ugh, check. It may be a godsend, but it's still creepy as hell. Only pills for painkillers... I hope she doesn't wake up until it's done._

Yang worked as quickly as she could, disinfecting the wound and applying rebuilding medicines, hoping the faunus wouldn't reject any of it. She cut away the blood-soaked clothing as well, knowing that freeing the skin from it might help the faunus breathe and would let Yang see any other wounds. Not finding any, Yang wrapped the mysterious faunus in a blanket and laid her down on the second cabin's bed.

_Okay, she'll probably want food when she wakes up. Clothes too. She can dig out anything she left in the pod. Then we can space it or keep it and sell it for scraps at Feyer._

She pulled out a few sets of old clothes and laid them on the desk in the room. Then she set out a glass of water and some of the pain pills and scrawled a note in case she wasn't in the room when her unexpected guest woke up.

By the time she returned Celica to her intended course and speed, Yang was ready to sleep for a long time. She trudged to her cabin and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

[…]

“Hey, wake up.”

Yang didn't recognize the voice, but she was in no mood to wake up just yet. “Gimme ten more minutes.”

“Your note said to wake you up if you weren't there when I did.” Whoever she was, at least she sounded amused.

Yang blearily opened her eyes to see the black-haired faunus looming over her. Yang had never seen such beautiful eyes. She was leaning heavily against the headboard. “Oh! How's the hip? Should you be walking?” Yang sat up.

“Probably not,” The reply was dry, “but it's hard to stay put when I'm alive against all odds. I didn't expect to wake up after I passed out in the pod. Thank you for that.”

“I was hoping not to have to give you an anonymous space burial. I'm glad you made it. Oh!” Yang remembered her manners, “I'm Yang, and my ship is the _Celica_.” She offered a hand to the stranger.

“Blake. Blake Belladonna.” They shook hands.

“I imagine you're hungry.”

“Ravenous, yes.”

“Tag along then. I'll whip something up in the mess. It'll be better than standard rations, but I didn't prioritize the kitchen when I built the old girl.”

“It'll be fine. I think I ate a bar while in the pod, but I was delirious. I don't know if anything in there was real.”

Yang ransacked her cupboards for various dried foods.

“It was pretty nasty upon opening. Lots of blood, wasn't sure you were alive until I took your pulse. What kind of protein?”

“Piscine, if you have it, otherwise anything.”

“Generic fish it is.” Yang began mixing tubes of paste in a wok over a microfusion stove. “Grab yourself a seat, this'll take a few minutes.”

Blake gingerly lowered herself onto a stool and exhaled. “So, where are we?”

“Probably not too far from where you were... attacked? We're about a quarter of the way to Feyer from Recluse.”

“Feyer to Recluse? I didn't realize we were near those lanes, even if no one uses them. Did you find anything other than me?”

“Just you. Scanner identified the pod, but I couldn't see the insignia until I brought it in. Anything you had in the pod is still there. It's in my loading bay. Can I ask what happened?”

Blake didn't answer for a while. “The splinter group, under the red wolf's head, attacked. My ship was for running diplomatic messages that couldn't be broadcast. I generally run from Menagerie to her embassies and back. They were waiting when I left Skreme. I took out a few fighters, but they were too many. I started a core overload, but they breached the cockpit before I started toward the pod. I collapsed in the pod. I don't remember it, but I must have hit the launch button. I tried to staunch the bleeding, passed out, and woke up in your second cabin.”

“I'll save any more questions until after you've eaten.” Yang handed Blake a bowl and filled another for herself. The fish-blend was adequate. She frequently had worse. Blake ate four bowls and brightened considerably.

“So, where do you need to go, Blake? I'm going to stay for a while at Feyer, my sister races there. I can take you back to Menagerie after if you don't find passage on another ship.”

“I,” Blake hesitated, “I don't know. It's not safe for me to keep working as a messenger. I need to let my parents know I survived the attack. They'll be worried when I don't return in a timely manner.”

“There should be a messenger service on Feyer. Beyond that, if we drop the pod into a star before reaching Feyer, your fate will be a mystery to the splinter group. I was planning on crashing at Ruby's place. There should be room for you, too. She's done well in the races.”

“I'd like that. It's been a long time since I took a vacation, and it's clear I can trust you, Yang.”

Yang's answering smile was radiant. “I've got a spare cabin and a galaxy to explore if you want to stick around after Feyer. It'd be nice to share the stars with someone.” 

_Please say yes._

Blake mulled it over, “Share the stars. I like that. Let's do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was mulling over a star wars AU, but I decided to make it a generic space opera instead. Then I thought about other space operas, like Mass Effect, Firefly, or Dune, and ultimately decided not to bind myself by any of their rules and go with something outside of them.
> 
> It's really hard not to give space names to everything, like calling the stun truncheon a stuncheon, or throwing the White Fang through a few rounds of google translate to find a space-worthy name for it.


	5. Comforting each other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really wasn't sure what to write for Affection/Love Languages. I've heard of them, but other than listing off a few I couldn't really tell you anything about them. So, I had to write about affection. I hope you enjoy it.

It didn't come to Yang right away, but after a time she realized that Blake leaning against her as she read was a sign of trust. Blake wouldn't show her back to someone unless she was certain it was safe. It was a reminder that there were elements of Blake's past that were harsher than anything Yang had endured. She loved the feeling of Blake plopping down next to her and leaning heavily against Yang as she got comfortable. Even if they didn't talk, Yang liked the reminder that Blake was there. She could always throw an arm around Blake and give her a quick squeeze.

It was best on cold days. Being a child of Menagerie, Blake did not welcome the cold. So, on those days, Blake was more likely to drag Yang's arms around her and silently demand that her warmth tax be paid. Yang was more than happy to oblige.

  
  


Blake came to realize how hard it was for Yang to really open up to people. She was even reluctant to let Ruby know what she was feeling, having played the part of a parent for too long. It led Blake to value her family more, realizing that growing up with two parents who supported her and relentlessly loved her spared her from some burdens that Yang bears. It led Blake to love those times when Yang would lay her head in Blake's lap and tell her everything. Knowing that Yang felt comfortable enough with her to tell Blake about her childhood and her doubts meant everything to Blake.

For Blake, it wasn't quite right to say she liked it, but knowing that she could alleviate Yang's worries and lessen her phantom pains was gratifying. She had misread things in the past, so getting happy or at least positive feedback let her know she was doing something right.

  
  


It was on a regular day that everything came to a head. Blake could tell that something was troubling Yang, eating at her. She took Yang's hand and dragged her over to Blake's bed. She say against the headboard and pulled Yang's head into her lap, softly trailing her fingers through Yang's hair.

“Do you want to talk about it, Yang?”

“Yes, but I'm not sure where it will lead.” Yang's answer was cryptic.

“I'm listening.”

“What are we doing, Blake?”

“You don't just mean snuggling, right?” At Yang's nod she continued. “We're traveling the world, getting wrapped up in crazy adventures, helping people, and changing the world for the better. Everything you and I mentioned in Mountain Glenn, now that I put words to it. Is there something more you want out of life?”

“Yes.”

“And, it's something I can help with?”

“You're the only one who can help.”

“The only one, huh?” Blake racked her brains for something Yang could ask from her that she didn't already give. She felt her face heat up as possibilities occurred to her.

_Oh. Maybe I wasn't misreading things at Haven and the Schnee Mine._

She looked down at Yang, and saw Yang reading the blush on her face and smiling.

“Nailed it. You're a mind-reader, Blake.”

Blake lowered her forehead to Yang's. “I don't think it's mind-reading when we're both on the same page.”

“Are you ready to turn that page and see what happens next?”

“Absolutely!”

And so the two found a new way to comfort and find comfort in the other.


	6. Perihelion

“You never struck me as a day person.” Blake lowered her arms from the slightly ridiculous position where she'd been holding them, taking in the sunlight after a day beneath Atlas's shadow. Yang looked amused and surprised at Blake.

“I wasn't, until I met you. You're so very bright, Yang. It was adapt or die.”

They both laughed at that.

“You're bright, too, Blake. You're not as dour as you pretend.”

“I'm more like the moon, or what's left of it. I reflect the people around me. In the White Fang, I was angry, sullen, dour, and completely full of myself. At Beacon, and after, I was able to lighten up. Thanks to all the friends I made, but especially you, Yang.”

“First semester Blake would've never admitted to that.” Yang said. “I'm glad you opened up to us.”

“Me too.”

[…]

Blake almost laughed when she saw Yang stretching and staring up at the moon. She walked up behind Yang and, balancing on the tips of her toes, wrapped her arms over Yang's shoulders.

“Is being a dragon of the sun not enough for you, that you're showing off your curves for the moon, too?”

“Don't be jealous, she never responds, no matter how provocative I am.”

Blake did laugh at that. “Why do you dance for her, then?”

“She makes me think of Summer. When Tai was putting Ruby to bed, which usually meant wrapping her tightly in her blankets so she couldn't jump out and wreak havoc, Summer would tell me stories. She told a lot about the moon. She even told me the story about the God of Darkness breaking the moon as they abandoned humanity to Salem and the Grimm. I wonder if she knew it was real.”

“I'd like to think she knew.” Blake offered. “So many of our old tales have turned out to be true. Oz or Salem may have told the story and passed it down to us.”

“That's a nice thought.” She leaned her head back to nuzzle against Blake. “You know. The moon reminds me of you, too. It's not just that you're reflective of the people around you, like you said earlier. You're calming. My anxieties and doubts don't weigh so heavily on me when you're around. The moon is reliable and not harsh like the sun.”

“You say I'm reliable, but Ruby still doesn't believe I'm real half the time she sees me.” As much as she tried not to, Blake sometimes dwelt on their leader's fear that any Blake she talked to was actually a shadow-clone.

“You're always there when any of us need you. That's reliable. I don't know why Ruby is so afraid that you'll prank her with your semblance. Maybe there was something at Signal I wasn't privy to, or RNJR had some sort of strange run-in on the way to Haven.”

“But I wasn't always reliable. My instinct is still to run in the darkest times.”

“Well, maybe you're still pulling yourself back together, like the moon. You've found people worth fighting that instinct over, worth putting yourself together for. But, I hope you'll remember that you're not bound to be the moon. You were the sun, the spark, for Menagerie. You inspired them, and they reflected that. And Blake, I think the darkest times are behind us.”

Blake had no response to that. She buried her face in Yang's hair and squeezed with her arms so Yang didn't mistake her silence as brooding. “We should get back to bed, Yang. I don't think the moon is joining us.”

Yang yawned, “Works for me. Hold on tight.” And, with Blake still draped over her shoulders, she walked the two back inside.


	7. Pax Draconis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bees talk about some of Remnant's curiosities after they've made it through a war.

“I always wondered about the Grimm wyvern. Neither of the gods' draconic forms have two legs. It also doesn't seem like Salem would base a Grimm she created on either of those monsters. So where did that type of Grimm come from? Where did my name come from if there are no true dragons?”

“Belladonna means beautiful woman. It suits you.”

Yang laughed. “Thank you, but I did mean my old last name. Were there small dragons, or even regular dragons, on Remnant?”

“We might have to talk to whoever Shade's historian is. Haven's is dead. Oobleck is dead. I wouldn't go to Atlas for accurate history. They sanitized evidence of their role in the Great War and are still denying their oppression of the Faunus and the people of Mantle.” Blake's eyes were narrowed. “That's why I pushed for trade-enforced equality for Faunus and Menagerie in the Accords. Atlas won't do it because it's right, but they will do it if it's the only way they can sell technology to the other kingdoms.”

“Have I told you that I love it when you're feisty lately?”

“Let's say no.” Blake said with a laugh.

“I love it when you're feisty!”

“I love you too.” Blake loved saying it, not just because she meant it, but because it never failed to reduce Yang to stammering.

“Blake– You– You fiend!” Yep, still worked.

“The mighty dragon can't put more than two words together. How are you so confident and so prone to crumbling?” Blake nuzzled Yang's shoulder.

“I'd say that my weak spot is beautiful women, but that's not even it. I'm not Coco. It's just you. I can't put walls up against you, and I don't want to.”

“This is why I don't read so many romances anymore. I get my fix from you.”

“I should hope so. I wouldn't be much of a wife if I didn't romance you.”

“Yang, you're as hopeless a romantic as I am. You don't even think about it most of the time. You're just there, making life easier and giving me every reason to smile.”

Yang seemed lost for words again, but she pulled Blake in for a kiss, which was a good response in Blake's book.

Blake eventually pulled back as she remembered the start of their conversation, “As for the dragon origin, we do have two continents shaped like them, Yang. I've never heard of dragons or their remains being found on Anima, but maybe we could explore that continent north of Patch now that Salem is gone. I don't know anything about that place, but I've never looked for information on it. Those historians I mentioned might save us a lot of time.”

“I like saving time for you.”

“You sap.” Blake had to privately admit it was an unfair accusation; she was just as bad as Yang. “Although, we can talk to Weiss about funding an expedition. If we ham it up next time we see her, she'll do anything to get rid of us.”

“I like the way you think. Let's go on an adventure!”

“Every day is an adventure with you, Yang, but I'm with you all the way.”


End file.
